The social and ritual contextualisation of Ancient Egyptian hair and hairstyles from the Protodynastic to the end of the Old Kingdom

Tassie, G.J.;
(2009)
The social and ritual contextualisation of Ancient Egyptian hair and hairstyles from the Protodynastic to the end of the Old Kingdom.
Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

Abstract

Hair, the most malleable part of the human body, lends itself to the most varied forms of
impermanent modifications. The resulting hairstyles convey social practices and norms,
and may be regarded as part of the “representation of self” and an integral element in
the maintenance and structuring of society. In this thesis, a systematic and quantative
investigation has been undertaken of the structural relationships between variations in
hairstyles and principal changes in social organisation in ancient Egypt from the
Protodynastic to the end of the Old Kingdom (3,350-2,181 BC), a period that witnessed
the rise, consolidation and eventually breakdown of centralised authority.
The results reveal that hairstyles were linked to the identity of individuals and
social groups, such as men, women, children and the elderly. Hairstyles were used as a
means of displaying status. After experimentation with a broad spectrum of hairstyles
during the Protodynastic and early Dynasty I, an institutionalised canon for hairstyles
was established, coinciding with the creation of administrative institutions. These
codified hairstyles continued to serve as the norms for identifying members of the
administration or signs of authority. By the end of the Old Kingdom, the hairstyles of
the elite had been adopted by the lower officials of the increased bureaucracy and
provincial elites as representations of their newly acquired power and status.
Although initially the majority of the men had their hair cut short, modifications
of short hair and the adoption of mid- and shoulder-length hair became progressively
common. The use of certain hairstyles was restricted to the higher social offices, with
longer hair being emblematic of power and divinity. Women, by contrast, initially had
long hair with greater variety occurring by Dynasty I and a more restricted array from
Dynasty II onwards. However, long hair was predominant among women of all social
statuses in all periods. Long hair may have thus been related to the perception of women
as mothers (responsible for childbirth and nursing), and hence their perceived role as
directly linked with procreation and fecundity. Although the adoption of the tripartite by
high officials was related to this ‘generative’ aspect of feminine hairstyles, it was
primarily in imitation of the God Osiris and his regenerative powers.

Type:

Thesis
(Doctoral)

Title:

The social and ritual contextualisation of Ancient Egyptian hair and hairstyles from the Protodynastic to the end of the Old Kingdom